


Silver Black

by morgansoul



Series: Tumblr prompts for Christmas [3]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Party, F/F, Gift Exchange, Ida - Freeform, Love Confession, Minor Francesca, Modern AU, Philippa - Freeform, Secret Santa, Sheala
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgansoul/pseuds/morgansoul
Summary: Tissaia is totally flustered by Yennefer's gift and terrified she didn't get her something she likes in return. It's stupid, she kept a list during the whole year of things Yennefer mentioned she wants or needs.
Relationships: Tissaia de Vries/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Series: Tumblr prompts for Christmas [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086650
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31





	Silver Black

**Author's Note:**

> This is the 3rd time I write this note because my PC crashes when I try to publish it soooo, I'll try to say all I wanted.
> 
> First of all: merry Christmas! Happy Yule! And nice holidays!
> 
> Now, I know this fic was suppoused to be posted yesterday, like all I owe the anon requests on tumblr, but I hadn't planned this one to be that long and it went from my planned 1/3k to 12k, so I am very sorry! Besides, I am not sure if this is what dear anon wanted, but I hope you all enjoy it (btw, anon, if you want me to gift you the work, just tell me and I'll do gladly <3).
> 
> As I said, this is for anon who requested "Tissaia being totally flustered by Yennefer's gift and terrified she didn't get her something she likes in return. It's stupid, she kept a list during the whole year of things Yennefer mentioned she wants or needs".
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the delay, for the extension anf for any mistake, it's all my own, enjoy!

It was December twenty-four, and the chestnut hadn't been able to find a moment to pick up the gift she had ordered, so she'd have to do it in last minute —something that, being so controlling, was like asking her to walk over the water across the ocean— but at least she had a whole list of things Yennefer had said she wanted or needed. The list itself occupied an entire paper front and back, including a system of colors and signs indicating all the times that the brunette had mentioned the object in question or the scale of _'desire'_ she felt for the particular thing, even if she had picked one of the less mentioned. There was no way Tissaia would fail with her gift, and yet part of her was terrified that it would not be enough. How could it? Yennefer was the perfect woman —even when she made a mess, her comments were hurtful, her office was always messy, or she got angry about stupid things—, so trying to buy her something she liked or was up to her was almost impossible... Maybe she had to buy her something else, something different.

Both women had been pinning at each other for years, until both Yennefer's and Tissaia's friends decided to intervene and try to put an end to what, for them, was rubbing the point of torture. How two people could be so attracted to each other and do their best to pretend they hated each other, convincing the other woman of it, was beyond their knowledge. However, after that night, at the party that Triss and Vanielle had proposed to hold in the teachers' room —and to which not all teachers were invited— they all trusted both women to resolve the stupid sexual tension that had been generated between them that night. Clearly, all that had been idea of Margarita and Sabrina, but both were aware that Tissaia would not accept if the party was not suggested by the two most adorable women who walked on the face of the Earth; probably, the chestnut would have found and excuse as she did last year.

Thus, Tissaia had taken the afternoon off for the first time in her life to go for Christmas shopping and pick up her commission. As Aretuza's director, she didn't even need to warn anyone but her right hand, Sabrina, but she still notified Margarita and Vanielle, department heads and their best friends. Both women looked at her as if she was crazy or something had happened to her, but neither commented on it, waiting for the chestnut to leave to laugh. That was probably the first time in her life that Tissaia de Vries was leaving school before her shift officially ended, so that was a too important and surprising event to just let it go. Finally, it was Rita who ran after Tissaia, with the sound of her heels against the ground being the only warning the chestnut received before a body pressed against her own and two arms surrounded her waist, holding her tightly.

"Where do you think you're going, love? " The blonde sang, being able to see in her mind how her friend rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to leave without telling us anything, are you, Tiss?" Vanielle was leaning against the wall by her office door and looking at them both with a raised eyebrow and amused expression.

With an almost inaudible growl, except for Rita, who was glued to her body and felt her body vibrate, the chestnut turned her head and looked at the black-haired woman, pleading. However, Vanielle's face said enough: there was no way she would get rid of giving them an explanation of where she was going and why; surely, she would also have to tell them what she planned to buy for Yennefer, though she had not even decided yet. She was awful lying to her friends, so she’d better be honest, even if it ruined part of the game.

"Well, I thought so," with a broad smile, Vanielle returned to her office.

Rita, imitating her friend's gesture, made a spontaneous decision and used her grip on Tissaia's waist, taking advantage of the difference in height, to lift the other woman off the ground and start walking backwards. Walking on her back carrying a woman who wasn't willing to get carried away, while wearing heels, maybe wasn't the best idea Margarita Laux-Antille had ever had in her life, but how could she imagine that Vanielle had only returned to the office to pick up her cell phone and was recording them, while they were falling between screams, some other blow, by Tissaia in an attempt to escape, and laughter on the floor? The sweet and adorable Vanielle, always ready to help them in everything, the best person they both knew, the woman they would entrust their lives to if necessary... The same woman who had just recorded a video of both in one of the most ridiculous situations in the world, to send it to the group of teachers they had with Triss Merigold, Sabrina Glevissig, Philippa Eilhart, Lytta Neyd and a few more women who, according to gossips —mainly from excluded teachers such as Stregobor, Vilgefortz or Fringilla— looked like a kind of lodge.

The members of the group soon began sending emojis, stickers and countless gifs that reflected their degrees of fun in the face of the most serious and strict woman they had ever met, falling to the ground on Rita, laughing and being held by the blonde. However, the whole _'conversation'_ if it could be called that, acquired a very different nuance when Sabrina stopped for a moment to analyze the video and wrote her thoughts.

> **Sabrina** _: 'Is that Rita's hand on Tissaia's ass?'_
> 
> **Triss** _: 'Are you looking at Tissaia's ass?'_
> 
> **Sabrina** _: 'Of course not, honey'_
> 
> **Francesca** _: 'Nobody believes that, Brina'_
> 
> **Coral** _: 'I want to know how they ended up like this'_
> 
> **Philippa** _: '@Sabrina stop looking at our boss's ass or I'll have to start looking at Triss'_
> 
> **Philippa** _: '@Yennefer why is my girlfriend touching your girlfriend’s ass?'_

And that was all it took to trigger the general panic. Of course, absolutely everyone, except the two involved, could see the tension and chemistry between Yennefer and the headmistress, but so far, neither had said it so brazenly as making it feel like a slap. And, with that last message, Philippa had just got them all _'writing...'_ and absolutely none of them dared to send whatever they had written. Rita and Tissaia were still lying on the ground, laughing, outside the conversation that was taking place at the expense of both. The chestnut struck gently on her friend's shoulder, causing her to raise her hands to the bottom of her back and drop a much stronger laugh than the previous ones, without any qualms about being so cheeky in the middle of the aisle.

"Stop sticking your hand in me! I don't want Philippa to put cyanide in my coffee," the woman protested, causing the blonde to start feeling jaw pain from laughing, "and we should get up before some idiot sees us".

"Hm, worried that your suitors will realize once and for all that you have preferences for the fairer sex?"

"In fact, it wouldn't hurt if it entered their heads at once," Tissaia smiled, and the woman finally let her go so she could get up, "but I hope it doesn't them for me to have someone against a wall or the floor to understand".

"Someone with black hair and violet eyes?" Rita looked at her from the ground with a wolfish smile, enjoying the sudden blush on Tissaia’s cheeks.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tissaia sighed, hating the warmth on her face, because she knew that and her eyes would be the only thing that could give away whatever she definitely didn't feel. Still, she offered her left hand to the blonde to help her get up.

"Of course not...," Rita rolled her eyes and used the hand that was offered to stand up.

When they both turned to Vanielle they saw that the smile on her face was tense and that she had paled compared to a few minutes ago. Rita and Tissaia approached the brunette with both eyebrows almost on their hairlines, curious, but also somewhat worried, as they hadn't heard her laugh with them for three minutes.

"What happened? "

"Stregobor died?" The blonde tried not to smile too much at that idea.

"Don't be silly, Rita, if he'd died she'd keep laughing and she wouldn't have a face that someone who really cares is, indeed, dying, " protested Tissaia, continuing the joke just because all three were alone.

"It's nothing... Didn't you have to leave for something urgent?" Vanielle looked directly at the headmistress, who frowned, confused.

"Vanielle…"

The brunette needed nothing but that tone of voice from her boss and friend, they barely lied at each other.

"Phil said nonsense in the chat," the woman looked at Rita, asking for help, "and I think Yen is angry. Let's just say she's hinted that you're... Together.

"Vanielle, I understand absolutely nothing," Tissaia whispered, feeling her face burn with intensity. What had happened to the brunette's head to say such nonsense?

"Just read the group chat," Vanielle sat on her own desk, waiting.

Despite how difficult it was to read Tissaia's emotions as she struggled to make her face an impenetrable mask, the brunette could see her rolling her eyes as she watched the video of her and Rita falling to the ground and the minute it followed from both _fighting._ Rita, however, instead of stopping to watch the video, decided to read the conversation directly, opening her eyes and looking at Tissaia and Vanielle alternately. Her girlfriend was as idiot and blabber as she was, but it was clear that Philippa hadn't said that by mistake, not when they were supposed to have planned to force their friends to talk about the ridiculous situation they were trying to live in. It was clear that Philippa planned to speed things up as much as possible and had no qualms about making people uncomfortable; if she had just been silent…

Instead of saying anything, Tissaia let her rational-and-frightened part do the work, so her fingers moved quickly on the screen.

> **Philippa** _: '@Yennefer why is my girlfriend touching your girlfriend’s ass?'_
> 
> **Tissaia** _: As long as I remember, there's still four days left to play stupid jokes, Miss Eilhart._
> 
> **Yennefer** _: Of course, wouldn’t it be that someone here does have a slight sense of humor, not as our dear headmistress. Probably the world would end if she shows any emotion and looks human._

Despite reading the written conversation, Vanielle and Rita looked up from their screens and exchanged a glance before laying their eyes on Tissaia. The way her neck muscles tightened or her jaw was further defined by being tenser, her hands paler than usual while holding the phone... How did they both always end up behaving like idiots? Tissaia's sigh of silently calling all her self-control was impossible to overlook, but they both saw her lock her phone again and return it to her purse; she may have thought Yennefer was almost perfect, that she was completely out of her league, but that did not take away her words doing her more damage than a stab in her heart.

"As much as I’m sorry for not having a coffee with you, I still have a gift to buy, so if you'll excuse me, I'll see you tonight," despite trying to sound neutral, the only thing both women heard was some pain in her voice.

"You're coming, aren't you?"

"Just for you and Triss... " Tissaia's smile was too forced, but at least she tried.

"What about me?" Rita pouted.

"Depends, are you going to touch my ass again?"

"Of course I will!" The blonde winked at her, making the grimace disappear from the chestnut's face to be replaced by a slight movement of her lips.

"Does that mean I can too?" Vanielle raised both eyebrows.

"What do you all have with my ass?"

"Do you want me to lie to you or tell you it's perfect?" The brunette swayed her legs, still sitting on the desk.

"I want to go shopping," Tissaia shook her head and hung her purse over her shoulder, "see you later, loves".

With that brief farewell, the chestnut came back out of her friend's office, but this time neither of the other two women followed her. The humor of both of them was somewhat more bleak now and, even if they were not going to express it aloud, they both feared that because of that brief discussion between Tissaia and Yennefer, for Philippa’s comment, their plans for that night would be ruined.

* * *

Tissaia, as always, needed to be at least ten minutes earlier everywhere, so when she walked into the teachers' room and saw that Triss and Vanielle were still finishing decorating the place, she rushed to offer her help. The black-haired woman told her to finish placing the food on one of the tables, while Triss merely looked at her dumbfounded, as if the woman who had just spoke to them was a complete stranger who had sneaked into the party that hadn't even started yet.

Vanielle, clearly entertained by the expression of the child and the drowned cry she tried to disguise, smiled with her back on them. Triss and Yennefer had started working at Aretuza last year and, although both were former students of the private school, neither had had the opportunity to see the principal with something different from her usual dark jacket or trouser suits, with even the last button of each shirt buttoned and the hair pulled into tight buns. However, any tight dress or garment used to be excluded from Tissaia's wardrobe until marked dates, such as the usual Christmas party of that part of the faculty, which Tissaia skipped last year in order to avoid Yennefer presence mixed with a huge amount of alcohol.

Tissaia's brown hair was partially picked up from the side of her head and held with a black and violet accessory, allowing half of the woman's long mane to fall on her back and one of her shoulders in perfect waves. Her neck was much longer than the high-necked shirts or jumpers made it possible to appreciate, although the woman had decided not to place any pendants around it, as that would only cause the gaze to be drawn to the valley of her breasts, pronounced noticeably by the V-neck of the silver dress she wore and whose opening was held a few inches above the navel. The dress was silver silk with some black details, such as the belt that prevented the two suspenders from separating and leaving the woman's breasts in sight. The back of the dress was covered by an almost invisible lattice of silver and black lace that only served as decoration, as it did not cover the expansion of skin that had underneath, despite ending at the height of the lumbar. The shape of the suspenders allowed Tissaia's chest to be accentuated and enhanced, which had first caused Triss's attention to be momentarily attracted to that part of her body, especially when a small part of the side of each breast was exposed. Of course, the chestnut was not prepared for the way the dress also sticked to each and every curve of the headmistress, highlighting them so that even Triss was finding it difficult to stop staring at her brazenly and hide the red color of her cheeks. The dress reached the ground and it was clear that the only reason Tissaia did not step on it were the high black stilettos she wore and that could be seen thanks to the half-thigh slit the dress also had.

Triss had looked with surprise at Vanielle when she had arrived, as her brown dress with black shoulder pads and completely uncovered back had been a completely breathtaking, but Tissaia was on a completely different level and behaved so naturally that she did not even look like the same woman. How could she be surrounded for such beautiful women who apparently were not aware of their appeal was just riddiculous.

After the chestnut, the next ones to arrive were Lytta, Francesca, Keira, Rita, Philippa, Sabrina, Ida and Sheala, all of them with an impressive look that did not go unnoticed. Triss, like the useless lesbian she always had been, couldn't help but think how logical it was, at the time, to have had a crush with the vast majority of women present that night at the party, during her time at Aretuza as a student. How some of them —and she wasn't going to look at Tissaia while she was thinking that— were still single, it was quite a mystery to her. At least, if anything Triss knew for having been helping Yennefer choose outfit for that night, it was that her best friend hadn't been able to choose something more successful to complement what she and Rita knew would be her future wife —because it was clearly offensive that only the two of them were planning the wedding of both women at that point.

Tissaia was with her back to the door, talking to Sheala in a corner, with a drink in her hand, when at the last of the guests finally appeared. Yennefer looked through the room before approaching the table with gifts and leaving hers on it, in a somewhat hidden place, for she hoped that it would take longer to be found. Part of the brunette felt stupid about her choice, she wasn't even sure if it would be well received, but what else did she have? That would probably be the only chance she had to give Tissaia something, even if it would have been because of Destiny or whatever that her secret pal was her. Who, by the way, where the hell was she? Yennefer had looked over the women present in the room and hadn't seen her, but Tissaia being late? Not happening in a million years.

Unless she had decided not to come. Now that she thought about it, Tissaia hadn’t come last year either…

Yennefer approached one of the tables to greet Sabrina and have the drink her friend offered her. Her expression had completely darkened at the idea that Tissaia had decided not to go to the party. Would it have been because of what she told her that morning? Remorse had been harassing the woman since she had sent the last message, but Yennefer was not the kind of person who backed down in her decisions and, although she knew she had being too cruel writing that, deleting the message would have been like acknowledging her mistake. Something she didn't do.

"What's with the face?" Sabrina whispered, really curious. How could her friend look bitter when the woman she had been in love with for years was there, looking the way she was and still single? Was she stupid? Well, probably she was, but she wouldn’t comment on it.

"Nothing... I just thought Tissaia would be here," she acknowledged in a whisper, her eyes nailed to the cup. It wasn't like she dressed like she had done to impress the headmistress or anything like that.

"Yennefer..." Sabrina slowly took air, looked up begging for patience, and put a second drink in her friend's hand, "see that woman who's talking to Sheala? Why don't you bring her something to drink? She's single..."

Yennefer followed the direction of Sabrina’s eyes and her face betrayed the surprise. That was the hottest sexiest woman she'd ever seen, and if it wasn't because she was clearly taller than Tissaia, she'd almost swear that...

The chestnut decided to turn then, a broad smile on her lips, as she headed to where Francesca and Vanielle were. Although Tissaia did not see the brunette, Yennefer let go of the second cup that Sabrina had left in her hand and which, miraculously, was still held by the blonde. Forgetting how to breathe and even how to stand, the brunette had to leave her own drink on the table and thank her friend for taking her arm. While it was awful that Sabrina was about to laugh because she almost fainted when she saw Tissaia looking, the worst of it all, was that Yennefer would now be unable to look at the headmistress in all night without thinking about the best way to rip off her dress. Or just look for a free class and put her hand through the split of the garment. Fuck. She was doomed.

"If you're done fantasizing about her, maybe you should go say hello," Sabrina murmured, letting out a little laugh.

While Yennefer's usual response would have been to deny the obvious or make some witty comment, right now her brain had decided to not function temporarily and it was more concerned with reminding her that she should breathe and that putting her boss on a desk and fucking her, at the school where they both taught, was a bad idea. So it took the brunette almost half an hour to recompose enough to try to integrate into some conversation with the different women who came to talk and say hello, like Rita, Vanielle or Triss, who decided to deliberately ignore the brunette's mental state, especially the latter, who would also have to acknowledge having had a good time staring at her boss, so by the time Yennefer regained the vast majority of her usual functions, Triss gently hit her glass with a knife and, with a big, childish smile, caught everyone's attention.

"Well, now that we're all here and have had some time to have fun, how about opening the presents before we're too drunk to fully appreciate them?"

They all nodded, though some of them, like Sabrina and Rita, corrected Triss's statement in their minds and replaced it with a _'too drunk to go on with the plan',_ even though they were all aware that such a plan could not be going better.

Rita had been the person Tissaia had been talking to when her gaze finally found Yennefer in that room, so she was fully aware of the terrible effects the brunette had had on her friend just by existing at the time. Clearly, the young woman seemed just as affected for a while and, if Sabrina's smile meant anything, the reason was more than obvious.

Yennefer wore a tight black jumpsuit, with some silver details such as the central part of the belt made up of the two long strips of fabric that were wrapped around her waist and held by that silver accessory. The garment was tight to her body in all the right places and enhanced her anatomy elegantly, despite the prominent neckline. The black chiffon suspenders crossed at the back of the brunette and surrounded her waist a couple of times, adjusting the fabric to it and causing part of her back and sides to be exposed. Also, the jumpsuit had a long black lace sleeve with silver flowers, while the other arm was completely exposed, except for the place at the height of the shoulder through which the strap passed. Also, in her hair she had set some silver and blue accessories that shone whenever the light reflected on them at the right angle.

While Tissaia had chosen the color of her own earrings and pins based on the color of Yennefer's eyes, to think that the young woman had done the same thing was naive, stupid and completely out of place. However, the more she looked at the shades of blue of the brunette's accessories, the more that stupid assumption was repeated in her mind. But it was clear that Yennefer would never do something like that, she had no reason to choose something to match her. Obviously, the fact that her jumpsuit was the same colors as her dress, even if in her case black predominated instead of silver, had been pure coincidence as well.

All the women sat around the table that they used to use for meetings and that was completely clear now, except for the presence of some glasses and bottles of champagne.

"Please have someone tell me that you have disguised Artorius of Santa Claus and that it will be him who gives us the gifts," Philippa pleaded, ripping off a general laugh and causing Sabrina a fit of laughter.

"Sadly, that would have meant having to invite everyone to the party, so we've preferred to leave all the work to Triss and Vanielle," Ida joked, before taking the cup back to her lips.

"That said, let's get started!" Said Triss, excited.

The first gift was that of Ida, which consisted of a small glass box inside of what there was a very old piece of amber, which should probably be in a museum. When the redhead's eyes managed to take off from the object, they ended up fixed on Francesca and full of tears, for it was obvious that she was the only person capable of giving her something like that. Francesca merely smiled and shruged her shoulders, as she winked at her, saying everything her words did not do. The next was Rita, who came close to jumping out of her chair seeing Toussaint's wine bottle of more than forty years, but she was unable to identify who might have given her something like that, despite being able to exclude Francesca, Yennefer and Tissaia from her list. Sheala let out a cry of emotion that surprised most of them, when a huge, rather old volume emerged from her gift paper, and which she claimed to have been looking for, for years.

"With the antiques coming out, I'll just ask you not to think of wrapping Stregobor in gift paper and bringing him in," Sabrina said, causing everyone to laugh again.

The next to open her gift was she, who came across a small carved wooden chest, so that it looked made of basilisk skin, rough, greenish and strong. Inside the chest was a set of clearly handmade —with great skill— runes, carved on delicate stones of different colors. Each rune was carefully carved into a different stone and all of them housed its own meaning and properties, something Sabrina admired since she was very young. Taking a quick look around, she frowned as she could not identify the person who had given her such a wonderful gift.

Still, she tried to calm down quickly, because according to the plan, the next person after the blonde would be Tissaia. Triss put her hands on the package with the principal’s name and used her more neutral expression to approach her and offer it to her, clearly excited to see what it contained. Yennefer had not wanted to tell her what she had bought, but, after all, no one was supposed to know that Tissaia had being assigned to her or that both her names had been excluded from the draw bag on purpose so that they would have to give each other the gifts. Everyone watched how Tissaia began to open the gift paper with great care and order, being meticulous even for something so simple.

By the time the gift was off the paper, Triss was back in place and Margarita was leaning over Tissaia to look at what it was.

In front of a woman kneeling on a platform was a fine-crystal unicorn, or maybe diamond? It was difficult to know, when Tissaia's gaze was fixed on the chain that entangled around the figure, a silver chain from which hanged an equally silver pendant, with a violet stone embedded in the center of several concentric triangles whose tips ended up giving rise to several spheres. It was clear that the pendant corresponded to the emblem of the school and was dangerously similar to one that Tissaia had once had years ago, golden and with a red stone, which she lost over the years. The chestnut never took off her pendant and seeing an almost exact replica —except for the colors— stunned her more than she could have foreseen. Probably half of those present would think the pendant was familiar to them, but only Margarita and Vanielle knew the meaning the former had had for their friend and how important a replica could become to the woman; of course, their plan could not be going better.

Tissaia did not look up, though she was fully aware of who had given her that. Leaving aside that Yennefer's gaze had been concealedly nailed to her, ever since she had begun to unwrap the gift, there was only one person who knew of her admiration for a particular myth —even though she had only mentioned it on one occasion— and who knew her well and very little at a time to add a replica of Aretuza's emblem to the gift. Her favorite myth had always been one in which a unicorn touched a woman with her horn, giving her magic and wisdom, making her the first sorceress to walk the Earth. While the magic itself was a myth, the fact that Yennefer was able to find a crystal sculpture, depicting the unicorn and sorceress —who also wore a pendant around her neck, despite the small size of the statue, very similar to the one she had hung on it— when she had mentioned it only once in front of her and barely touching the subject. When Tissaia dared to look up and fix her eyes on Yennefer, the two stared at each other for a couple of minutes, as if they could transfer their thoughts between the two of them; of course, being able to do something like that would have helped them a lot, since both were unable to vocalize their feelings. Both had been so engrossed in each other that they had overlooked how the gift round continued.

Tissaia's almost unexpressive face had been replaced by slightly brighter eyes and a contained smile, while the woman placed the pendant around her neck. Yennefer had repeated over and over again that the only reason her eyes had ended up fixed on Tissaia's breasts was because Aretuza's crest now rested between them, as if it had always been part of the attire and matched perfectly with the colors of women's jewellery and garments. Seeing Tissaia put on directly the pendant made the brunette's shoulders relax and a happy smile ended up on her lips, hidden by the cup she took to fulfill that function, as she needed no more to know that the woman had liked it. Perhaps Yennefer hadn't planned the perfect way the jewel matched the whole outfit of the headmistress or how she made anyone's gaze redirected to the area it rested on —clearly, the brunette hadn't been the only one to let her eyes veer to the woman’s neckline— but now she was sure she couldn't have chosen anything better and that she had taken advantage of her only chance perfectly.

While all her friends continued to open the corresponding gifts, Tissaia waited and feared the moment it was Yennefer's time to open hers. Her hand found, in a natural gesture, the pendant between her breasts and clung to it with carefully, feeling complete now that she was wearing a jewel like that with her again. Yes, it might not have been the same person who had given her the school crest —and her position as principal with it— but it had been done by a woman for whom definitely she didn't feel any kind of emotion beyond annoyance —because she clearly hadn't been attracted to her former student for at least a couple of years— so that counted as much as the first time the chestnut had received the jewel… More or less… Right? However, Tissaia's mind kept spinning the idea that her gift was horrible by comparison. For some reason she did not understand, Yennefer remembered and knew very important details for the chestnut and she... She was totally flustered by Yennefer's gift and terrified she didn't get her something she liked in return. It was stupid, she kept a list during the whole year of things Yennefer mentioned she wanted or needed, just in case she got to be her secret friend that Christmas. The list with color and symbol code had been reviewed by Tissaia at least a hundred times that same month and she had finally opted for one thing Yennefer had only mentioned one time —trusting to be able to surprise her with it— but it was a stupid idea. She wasn't even sure it was that year when the brunette had mentioned the object in question and would lie if it hadn't been based on a memory of a teenage Yennefer when looking for the gift.

Time passed much faster than Tissaia would have wished, for the next time her eyes left the liquid contained in the glass she had been tinkering with for a long time, to calm her nerves, it was Yennefer's turn to open her gift. She was the last one, something the headmistress thanked for, but that did nothing to erase the more than obvious nerves she felt.

The only reason she had looked up was because of Rita's disguised kick, next to her, to get her attention; she almost seemed to know that the gift Yennefer was going to open was hers, but, given her nervous state, it wouldn't be too strange either. The blonde took Tissaia's hand, the one which she did not hold her new pendant and intertwined her fingers with hers, trying to make her stop restlessly touching the cup and calm down a little. Tissaia squeezed Rita's hand tightly and took a deep breath, watching Yennefer open her gift, completely excited, her cheeks were red, for something the chestnut hadn't heard —a disguised comment from Sabrina to her friend about stop staring at certain curves now that it was her turn to open her gift—, just before Triss gave the last package to her friend.

Yennefer stopped half opening the gift, her eyes open with amazement and fascination. Only Triss and Sabrina, who flanked her to the right and left, correspondingly, could see what was inside the paper and what had forced the brunette to stop, but were confused at it. At first glance it looked like a sloppy old notebook, with a battered leather cover, which led the two women flanking Yennefer to frown.

"Lara Dorren's manuscript," Yennefer whispered, without further examining the gift and raising her head in a sudden gesture to look directly at Tissaia. She was the only person she had spoken to about her interest in that woman's research, how the chestnut had managed to get hold of a unique copy of one of her works was...

"Holy fuck, really?" Sheala tried to contain her interest, but she looked shocked.

Yennefer, stunned, ignored that all eyes were fixed on her, except for some that moved between the brunette and Tissaia. Violet eyes did not overlook the director's small, nervous smile, who with it recognized her authorship in that —it wasn't as if the brunette needed it anyway—, something that was incredibly adorable in the young woman’s opinion. Carefully, she removed the notebook and slid her fingers onto the deck, opening it for a moment to browse one of the pages. There was no doubt that it was authentic and Sheala seemed to be about to pounce on her to rip it off her hands, as the good historian and librarian she was. Probably, had it not been for Sabrina's blow to her shoulder, the brunette would have been so absorted in contemplation of the manuscript as to continue to unwrap the gift. It was by setting aside the paper altogether that she noticed a black, elongated box next to the book that she had completely ignored, too fascinated by the volume itself.

Tissaia squeezed Rita's hand with a little more force, aware of the way Vanielle and the blonde were looking at her, a raised eyebrow and a mocking smile. No one was going through so much trouble to get such an object for _'someone she didn't care at all and who's just a pimple in the ass',_ so they'd probably be teasing Tissaia with that for the rest of her life. However, it was Yennefer's gaze that had flustered her again and made her smile at her nervously.

Yennefer left the book on the paper with great care and opened the box, her eyes widening with surprise as she saw what rested on a black pad. Apparently, she had not been the only one to miss an accessory around the neck of the receiver of her gifts, as Tissaia had decided that Yennefer was not Yennefer if her black and silver diamond star did not accompany her, hanging from a black velvet choker. The brunette's fingers glided with great care by the star and an idiotic smile ended up drawn on her lips, no matter how much everyone was looking at her at the time, her eyes weren’t going to move from the bluish stone under the diamond star. Delighted with her gifts, Yennefer muttered a thank you and ignored everyone a little, as they ventured to guess who their secret friends had been, the vast majority failing several times before they found the right person. No one mentioned her or Tissaia, until it was the chestnut who, staring at Yennefer, said her name and tilted her head. The brunette nodded and said Tissaia’s name, who also nodded. The gratitude was reflected in the eyes of both, but neither expressed it loudly and publicly.

"Well, now that we've all appreciated our gifts, and if Triss allows me, let’s to get drunk and burn Stregobor's car!" Rita stood up, excited, raising her glass.

"Let's burn Stregoboring!" Chanted Lytta, Keira and Sabrina, ignoring the car part.

"No burning things!" Tissaia looked at them alarmed, now raised with both hands on the table and slightly leaning forward, worried they were serious. Yennefer mouth went dry when she saw the new perspective of the headmistress' body and cleavage.

"What if we paint his office?" Francesca suggested.

"He'll know it was us, we did it last year" Ida replied, with a sigh and everybody avoided Tissaia’s tired look.

"The car is not such a bad idea," Philippa murmured.

Eventually, they all ended up getting up to fill their glasses, grab something to eat or stretch their legs a little bit. Philippa took advantage of that moment to turn on the Christmas lights and play music, starting to give much more partying look to that reunion.

With a sigh, and picking some courage, Yennefer took the box, from which she had not yet taken out the choker and approached Tissaia. The headmistress had strategically placed herself in the opposite corner of the table on which the bottles were, hoping to keep her two best friends as far away from alcohol as possible, as she knew them well enough to know how their tongues went wild when they drank. Keeping the box on her back, nervous, the young woman smiled and stopped next to Tissaia. She hadn't said anything yet, nor had she looked at her, and her cheeks were completely red, so surely that would be much harder than it had seemed in her mind, while rehearsing it over and over again. She knew that the simple rubbing of Tissaia's skin against her would be enough to power her fantasies for a century, but she wasn't going to recognize that was even a reason for her doing what she was about to do.

"Uh... Tissaia?" She whispered, though surely the word would be drowned out by music. However, the chestnut turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Yennefer?"

"I was wondering if... Would you mind?" Yennefer offered her the uncovered box, hoping that she would understand what she was asking.

"I..." Tissaia swallowed and took a deep breath, "are you sure?"

Yennefer nodded and that's all the headmistress needed to extend her right hand to the box and take the velvet strip carefully. The brunette turned and took her mane carefully to keep it away from her neck and leave the other woman room enough to move. Tissaia used one hand to place the pendant in her neck and hold it attached to Yennefer's neck, while using the other to take one end of the velvet strip, in which there was hooked a metal closure, and then slid the other —without being able to prevent the fingertips from caressing the young woman's skin, rather than the velvet strip—, ripping off a gasp from Yennefer.

Tissaia stopped for a moment, realizing for the first time that she had not been the only one to hold her breath and that, right where she had rested her hand, she could feel Yennefer's pulse at twice the usual speed. Did she feel so uncomfortable that she was touching her? Or would it be possible to...? No, of course it wasn't anything like that. It would be best to finish putting the pendant on it and back as much as possible, before her self-control vanished, consumed by her need to explore to the last centimeter of skin with fingertips. When the choker was secured, Tissaia rested her hands on the brunette's shoulders, hoping that was enough to tell her it was over; but Yennefer did not move, she almost struggled to remember that she should breathe if she wanted to stay conscious. Confused, Tissaia leaned forward and whispered in her ear —only because she didn’t want to scream, there was absolutely nothing erotic about it, nope—, her front pressed to Yennefer’s back.

"I hope you like it".

A few seconds passed, before Yennefer turned to look at Tissaia, finally, and gave her a little smile. She hoped she liked the pendant or having her pressed against her back? Would it be out of place to ask her if she wouldn’t mind to also fuck her senseless? Maybe it would… Yes, Tissaia only meant the pendant, for fuck’s shake, what was wrong with her brain? If it had been someone else, the chestnut would have thought that smile was a shy gesture, but coming from Yennefer?

"I... Thank you, Tissaia," the brunette leaned forward and quickly kissed her cheek, before separating and trying to flee where her two friends had met Rita and Vanielle, suddenly pretending not to be looking in their direction. However, that image was quickly forgotten by Yennefer when Tissaia's voice reached her ears.

"Yennefer?" Tissaia waited until the brunette turned, a small, definitely shy smile on her lips, "you look beautiful".

Yennefer widened her eyes, surprised by the comment, but refusing to erase the stupidly big smile that took shape on her lips at the time. Her cheeks were burning, and her heart had either stopped, or beating so fast that the brunette was unable to feel it. Had it not been because Philippa hooked herself to Yennefer's arm and dragged her to the center of the room to dance with her, neither of them would have realized how close she was or that she could have heard what they were saying. Across the room, Margarita seemed to be about to pick up her girlfriend and throw the glass of champagne over her head, but Vanielle and Triss managed to convince her that it would be best if she drank it, instead. And it wasn’t as if Rita needed encouragement to drink.

Yennefer and Tissaia probably flirting more than usual could end up with the plan they had prepared yes, but if they kissed at once, they wouldn't have to be making plans all the time! With a resigned sigh, Margarita left the teacher's room, accompanied by Francesca.

Tissaia, however, decided to approach the group formed by Vanielle, Triss and Sabrina, kind of concerned about the two women who had just left. She didn't want to think wrong about her friend, because clearly Francesca would never do anything like that to her wife, but when Rita drank... Well, the blonde wasn't the most reliable person in the world when she drank more than she should have.

"Is everything all right?" Tissaia looked at them with some concern, especially when Triss nodded vigorously.

"They went out to smoke so that the alarm wouldn't ring," Vanielle screwed her arm around Tissaia's and rested her head on her shoulder, "dropping it sucks".

Tissaia left a kiss on her friend's forehead, surprising the other two women, for it was the first time they had witnessed something like that. Come on, the chestnut wasn't just freely handing out displays of affection every day.

"It is, but it's better than dying early," Tissaia murmured, letting the brunette snuggle up against her, rounding her waist and leaving her hand much lower what might be deemed _appropriate._ Triss, meanwhile, wrote a couple of messages, making sure to leave some time between the first and the second. At least that way, her role would be believable, and she wouldn't have to lie to anyone in the face. Everything continued according to plan, even though everyone had thought it would be impossible for Vanielle to do anything that would make Yennefer minimally jealous, but the sound of the door indicated to everyone that it had been much easier than anticipated. "Between you and Rita, I'm going to have to charge every person who lays hand on me," she protested in a whisper, causing Triss to open her eyes wide open.

The woman, however, did not have time to express her thoughts, as Tissaia frowned upon seeing that her cell phone was on the drinks table and the screen had just lit up with a message. Careful not to disturb Vanielle, the chestnut stretched out one of her arms to take the device and check the notification. It was a text message in which Rita told her that she needed to speak urgently with her and that she was waiting for her in the history class, something quite rare, considering that Rita taught chemistry and that history’s was the smallest class... But who was she to question her drunken best friend's decisions?

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom for a moment," the lie came out so naturally from Tissaia's lips that Sabrina and Triss had a great deal of effort to contain their surprise. They both knew that the woman would go to the history classroom because Rita would have asked her, so seeing the ease and credibility with which an excuse was made up just for what her friend might have done was amazing and terrifying.

"All right, try not to fall from those heels," the brunette joked, releasing her to let her go.

Tissaia rolled her eyes and left the teachers' room. As soon as several seconds passed, they all gathered in the center of the room, trying to contain their laughter and whispering.

"Have you seen their clothes?" Ida sighed, "they are made for each other".

"What about their jewelry?" Lytta smiled broadly, "they were made to match their eyes".

"Aren't we really going to talk about the fucking presents?" Sheala looked at them all, "the pendants aside, the sculpture was fine-crystal with diamond and the quality of the details was impressive, not to mention that Lara's manuscript is a unique object that wasn't even for sale and that I've been trying to get all my life. It was a fucking love confession".

"Isn't it romantic?" Triss smiled broadly, really excitedly.

"If they don't get married in a year's time, I'm going to have to rethink my friendship with those idiots," Vanielle sighed and leaned against Keira, discretely, "will Rita and Francesca be already done?"

"There's only one way to find out..." Philippa was the first to take off her heels and head for the door, followed by Sabrina, Triss, Vanielle and the others.

* * *

Triss's message had made Yennefer look in her direction, meeting Tissaia and Vanielle —or rather Tissaia and Vanielle's hand— in her line of sight. Why did they all seem to have a chance to touch the chestnut except her? It wasn't fair. With a snort, Yennefer decided to look elsewhere than the two women, so Triss's next message, asking her to meet in the history class within five minutes was almost a relief. Had it not been because Yennefer had spent all that time circling the small class, in which there were barely twenty seats, nervous and thinking of all the possibilities that a meeting with Triss could hold; perhaps she would have heard the sound of heels approaching or the door closing almost silently behind the back of the woman who had entered.

However, it was not until Tissaia whispered her name with some confusion that Yennefer raised her head and needed to stop, too close to bumping into one of the desks and stumbling upon it. Trying to maintain composure, Yennefer decided to lean against the desk and pretend she was cool, her eyebrows raised curiously. What was the headmistress doing there?

"Have you seen Rita? She told me to meet her here," Tissaia explained, seeing the woman's expression.

"Unless it's in the relic closet, she's not here," Yennefer shook her head and frowned, "Triss told me to wait for her here".

"It's weird," Tissaia leaned against Sheala’s desk, taking a hand to the pendant in an instinctive gesture, "the class shouldn't even be open".

"True, Sheala is not the kind of person who forgets to close the door," Yennefer sighed, "I think I'd better go get Triss. I mean, I'm sure you have important things to talk to Rita about".

"Mhm," Tissaia looked down, "the truth is, I can't think of any… She’s probably drunk and she’d set something on fire, so I’ll have to deal with it".

"Oh, does she already know about Vanielle?" Yennefer approached the door but stopped to hear the woman’s response.

"What about Vanielle?" Tissaia frowned, clearly confused. The women on the corridor were looking at each other, equally confused but silent so they could hear them talk.

"Well, the truth is, I thought you were fucking Vilgefortz," Yennefer explained, though the comment caused the chestnut's face to become contorted into a grimace, "but after what happened before, I guess it's just gossip and you're with Vanielle".

"What? No!" While Tissaia's cheeks were now reder than pale, she stared at the ground and tried to compose herself, "Vanielle is my best friend, that's all. Besides, she's been dating Keira for years, they just try to pretend we all don’t know about it, as if we were blind".

_‘You fucking are,’_ thought Vanielle —and probably everyone—, from the other side of the wall.

"Oh... I just thought you were something when I saw her grabbing your butt," Yennefer shrugged, instantly cursing herself for saying that out loud.

"How...? Why were you looking at her hand?"

Lytta and Ida held Rita, Ida’s hand on her mouth to shut her up before she ruined the situation.

"No, no, I was looking at your ass," she quickly clarified, though realizing what she had just said, she simply turned and took one of her hands to the doorknob and tried to open it. In the other side, Philippa was almost jumping for that comment.

"Did you just say you were looking at my ass?" Tissaia was shocked.

"The door isn’t opening," Yennefer tried again, worried.

"Don't change the subject, Yennefer," the chestnut crossed her arms.

“Yes, Tissaia, I was fucking looking at your beautiful and perfect ass. Goddess, I have eyes and nobody who has them can be idiotic enough not to look at it. Fuck, how can you even stop looking at the mirror every morning?" Yennefer snorted, not hearing a muffled laugh on the other side. "Now, if you could focus, I can’t open the fucking door”.

Tissaia did not answer immediately, too surprised by the young woman's words to react. Her eyes did not even leave the brunette's body, although for a moment she had the feeling that she had heard someone laughing in the hallway… She was getting crazy, right? Was it her age? Maybe Stregobor had succeeded finally, or maybe she was drunk, or maybe it was all just a weird dream. If it was a dream, could it be a wet one? She wanted so badly to ravage Yennefer right now.

"Fuck," Yennefer knocked on the door, but the door continued closed, no matter how much she pulled or pushed in every possible direction.

Tissaia approached the young woman and placed a hand on her back, trying to make the gesture appeasing; however, when the headmistress’ skin touched Yennefer's, the brunette petrified, except for a shiver she was unable to control.

"Let me try," the woman whispered, too close to the brunette's ear for her brain to function normally. Tissaia grabbed the doorknob with her free hand and tried to turn and stretch it, without achieving either thing, with a frown she took a step forward, pressing her body against the brunette’s without being able to avoid it, and it was only because she was between her and the door, "if it's some kind of joke, I'd appreciate it if the author would be kind enough to put an end to it right now. I promise no consequences will follow these childish actions".

Vanielle shook her head, it was when Tissaia said things like those that everybody knew that the _author_ would thank a quick death instead a scold from the woman. They all kept their positions, even if they didn’t hear a thing now.

While Yennefer's brain didn't quite work properly, Tissaia's closeness allowed her to notice the way her body was tightening more and more, with every second passing. Would it be the presence of the brunette? No... If that were it, Tissaia would be moving away from her, not so close to her body. Then...? Yennefer's mind went from being off to working at full speed, but nothing she thought made sense until...

"Do you have claustrophobia?" A barely audible whisper escaped her lips while purple eyes left the door to look for the blue orbs. Her voice had been soft enough that Tissaia, instead of jumping defensively, nodded with a slight head movement, "and you haven’t told anyone, right?"

"It's just a silly thing," muttered Tissaia, who had not thought it necessary to mention it to either of her two friends.

Yennefer, however, shook her head and took the hand that the chestnut had left over the door. She was nervous and, her actions were guided more by impulses, instincts and chaos than by rational thoughts, so even herself was surprised when her lips perched on pale knuckles gently enough to cause a slight interruption in Tissaia's breathing.

"I don't think they're just going to let us out, why don't we talk about something that makes us not think about our situation?" She offered the older woman.

"Do you mean being locked up or the fact that you keep hating me after all these years?" Tissaia couldn't help but being defensive, but the young woman knew she deserved the comment, besides, she could feel how anxious Tissaia was right now.

"I don't hate you, Tissaia," Yennefer acknowledged, not letting go of her hand to reinforce her words. She dragged Tissaia to Sheala's desk and sat on it, making the headmistress sit on the chair in front of it, "it's clear that the one who doesn't like my presence is you".

"Then insulting me and messing with me must be a new kind sport, isn’t it?" Tissaia argued, crossing her arms and leaning against the back of the chair, "Yennefer, I was the one who suggested Vanielle to permanently hire you as Elder teacher, do you really think I would have done that if I didn’t like to have you around?"

"Of course not, it's just that..." The brunette snorted, "it doesn't mind," crossing her arms, she decided to look anywhere but the other woman, what did she mean with that last statement? Why would she want to hire her if it was clear she couldn't stand her? "Why?v

"Why what?"

"Why do you say you suggested me, if you're not even able to be in the same room as me and you can’t even hold my eyes? It is clear that you have hated me since we met more than two years ago at the conference in Temeria".

"I don't hate you, Yennefer, and the reason I avoid you has nothing to do with it," the headmistress moved a hand to the pendant, as if protecting herself, beginning to doubt which of the two options was worse, whether being locked up or talking about feelings, "I could never hate you".

"Why? Do you still feel sorry for my shitty life?"

"It's none of that," Tissaia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she needed to get out of there before she said anything she was going to regret, so she stand up and moved to the door again.

"And then what is it? Explain it to me, Tissaia, because I really need a reason to stop thinking about you," Yennefer raised her voice more than she would have liked, but she was sick of lying and pretending, "damn it, Tissaia, I just need you to give me one reason that makes me stop being in love with you! And don't you dare tell me that I'm confused or that I don't know what I'm talking about, because I've been thinking about it for too many years, and I can't think of a single explanation, besides that one, that I can justify that every time I close my eyes, the only image in my mind is yours," Yennefer hit the table with one of her fists. She knew she shouldn't be saying all those things, yes, but she couldn't stop; it was the alcohol, it must be the alcohol… "It's clear that you're not interested and that I have nothing to do with you, even less if we count all the people interested in you, but all I need is for you to tell me that aloud so my brain can understand it in one fucking go".

By the time she finished shouting, Yennefer's chest rose and went up fast, her breathing being irregular and her hands trembling against the wood at the desk. Tissaia leaned against the door, but now her whole body felt totally oblivious to her existence, while her mind had not yet finished processing Yennefer's words. Did she just insinuate that she thought of her?

Tissaia was definitely unable to understand what the brunette had told her and her expression between confused and defeated seemed to show her enough to make Yennefer's brows frown when she saw her. The brunette stood up again and approached the other woman, placing her index finger under her chin and forcing her to stick her eyes on the violet ones. A part of Yennefer could hear Rita's voice in some corner of her mind, repeating something the blonde had told her a couple of months ago, when Tissaia had been completely oblivious about one of her hurtful comments: _'Don't consider such reactions, she often doesn't understand the hints... Sometimes she doesn't even understand direct insinuations, unless you tell her verbatim exactly what you want her to know. Tissaia is very smart, but emotionally she's too insecure.'_

"Tissaia," Yennefer whispered, to get her attention, "please give me a reason to stop being in love with you and I promise I’ll deal with it".

Tissaia's temple was further frowned upon, until the words seemed to reach her brain and her eyes widened considerably. The chestnut opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to articulate an understandable answer, but the words never came to her lips. Defeated, Tissaia made the only decision her short-circuited brain could make: she leaned forward and closed the distance between her and Yennefer, leaving a chaste kiss on the brunette's lips. Neither of them had seen the mistletoe hanging over the door, though apparently, they would not need it, as the women gathered in the hallway and with their ears glued to the wall had thought. Of course, none of them were seeing what was going on and that Tissaia had died of a heart attack, was a possibility that none of them ruled out.

Yennefer took her free hand to the chestnut mane, tangling her fingers between the strands she found and enjoying the silky touch she had so often imagined. While now the only thing touching between both faces was the temples of the two women, neither was able to speak or retreat. Although Tissaia was now pinned between the woman and the door, one of her hands had ended up in Yennefer's neck and the other over her waist, making sure she didn't flee, not until she could regain enough poise to ask the woman why she had said that without her voice shaking.

"You were supposed to give me a reason to stop loving you," Yennefer protested, "not hope to woo you".

Francesca looked at the other women, silently asking if Yennefer had really said she had intentions to woo Tissaia.

"And how do you want me to do it if I don't even know how to stop loving you myself, you idiot?" The headmistress answered, before she was able to measure her words.

Yennefer's eyes widened much more than they had when she had seen the pendant or the book, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest and run all over the class until it found a way out.

"You can't suggest you have feelings for me and insult me in the same sentence," the brunette's lips were dangerously close to those of the other woman. And Tissaia was human, after all, she had been holding back too much during that night not to take a chance like that when it was served on a gold platter, so when she kissed Yennefer a second time. Any kind of chastity and purity disappeared the instant Yennefer reciprocated the kiss, letting the hand that had been on the headmistress chin end up resting on her neck, determined to feel each and every one of her muscles move while her mouths were busy, and her fingers caressed the skin of her throat. Yennefer could only think of exploring that area with her lips and tongue, marking it with her teeth, but they hadn't even started talking about their _thing_ , not at all. "Tissaia," it was a single whisper, between one kiss and the next, but she managed to make the woman turn her head to one side after the second one, "you can't..."

The women on the other side weren’t sure of what was happening, because the both teachers locked on the class, kissing each other, wasn’t a possibility. They were truly regretting not having installed security cameras.

"Of course I can," Tissaia’s voice sounded a little choppy, and she was tilting her head, "that's exactly what I've done," Tissaia had to close her eyes and take a deep breath to prevent any involuntary sound from leaving her lips, when Yennefer decided she had spent enough time thinking about what she wanted to do to her neck, it had been too long for someone as impatient as the brunette, so she began to leave slow, damp kisses on the skin at reach. "I don't know how you expect me to search..." Tissaia took a deep breath again, taking a few seconds before continuing and trying to ignore how the dark-haired woman was sucking at her pulse point, "to find a reason for you to stop doing the only thing I've been dreaming about for years... Fuck, Yennefer!"

"I'm not going to apologize for something I am not sorry," the brunette used her tongue to soothe the pain on the mark she had left on her throat, a smug smile painting her lips and reflecting her satisfaction about having made Tissaia curse.

"You're a spoiled brat," Tissaia complained.

"Punish me then..." Yennefer left the principal's neck forgotten just to look her in the eye, trying to make her see that she had meant it. She was delighted when she didn’t found any blue in the now black eyes of the headmistress, "but after you’ve finished telling me whatever you were saying".

"I don't even know what we were talking about," Tissaia snorted, unable to concentrate when Yennefer's hand —the one that wasn't in her hair— found the slit of the dress and decided that stroking her thigh in a not remotely subtle way was a good idea.

"You were saying something about dreaming about me".

"I don't think I drank enough to tell you about my sexual fantasies with you," Tissaia rolled her eyes, while saying that matter-of-factly, until she realized what she had just said —and the drowned scream in the hallway had nothing to do with it. She tried not to look at the brunette's face or the way she raised both eyebrows, completely surprised.

"Are you serious?" Tissaia tilted her head to one side and Yennefer decided to gently bite her neck as a complaint, making the chestnut whimper and finally nod, "date me," she whispered.

"When?"

"Tomorrow? The day after? Do I even have to take you on a date before I ask you to be my girlfriend?"

Tissaia sighed and wrapped the brunette's neck with both arms, trying to ignore the hand that continued to caress her thigh, higher every time, until it moved the dress aside so she could grab her ass and squeezed.

"Yennefer!" Tissaia groaned, frustrated, "I think you're skipping too many steps without having had any dates yet, so, what wrong can do one more...?"

"Is that a yes?" Yennefer pressed herself against the other woman, slipping her thigh between hers.

"It depends," the chestnut purred.

"Of what?"

"However you ask me," the director rolled her eyes, joking, though she was sure of some things the brunette should keep in mind at that point.

"Okay..." Yennefer bent down to leave some kisses on the woman's collarbone, "though I'm curious to know if those fantasies include Sheala's desk..."

"Don't you even fucking think about it! Are you crazy? Get away from my desk!" They all shot a killing look to the brunette with their eyes for having given away virtually the whole plan, but the dark-haired woman couldn't be more indifferent to something like that. It was her desk! "Tissaia, if you dare to fuck Yennefer on my desk, you buy me a new one!"

Yennefer turned straight and stuck her body against Tissaia's, circling her neck with one arm and leaving a kiss on her forehead, while the chestnut arms found her waist and adjusted to it. They were both completely blushing, but it wasn't like they weren't expecting something like that since they heard someone trying to keep herself silent… They had just forgotten for a while.

"Sheala open the fucking door or I swear we won't let a single corner of your class standing!" Yennefer tightened her embrace as she felt Tissaia start shaking again and how she clung to her. It was bad if she wasn’t able to keep distracting her, "I'm serious. Tell us what you want and we will do it, but open the door, now".

Maybe it was the way she was speaking, how her voice was pitched, but several unintelligible whispers on the other side for a few seconds were the only answer they got before hearing someone put the key in the lock and turn it, finally unlocking the door.

"I'm sorry," Tissaia didn't hesitate for a second, after that, before releasing her and sneaking out of her arms to take the doorknob, turn it and run away. She didn't give any of the women in the aisle a chance to stop her or talk to her, because with those heels and the amount of alcohol they had drunk pretty much all of them, trying to follow her was a deadly risk.

Yennefer stood still, near the door and took a moment to fulminate them all with her gaze, making it clear that whatever they had tried, had gone out of hand. It wasn’t their fault, since they didn’t know about Tissaia’s claustrophobia, but they shouldn’t have locked them in, in the first place.

"Congratulations, I hope you're satisfied," Yennefer twisted her lips in a grimace, and then shook her head with annoyance, before running after Tissaia. She was sure of where to find her, so she completely ignored Triss's worried whisper behind her back.

Yennefer closed the roof door behind her back and approached the woman standing by the edge, leaning over the concrete wall just over a metre high. Perhaps on another occasion, the brunette would have stopped to examine each and every curve of the female's body, but at that moment all she could do was worry and approach her, making as much noise as possible so Tissaia could listen to her and not startle. Yennefer placed her hands on Tissaia's hips and stuck her forehead against the woman's back, burying her face in the crock of her neck and breathing deep. She wasn't sure if the chestnut would keep her words, now that they were out of the classroom, but she'd take every second until the the principal decided to give her a reality blow.

"Thank you," Tissaia whispered, closing her eyes and allowing her shoulders to relax, "and merry Christmas".

"Now they are very happy, indeed… But what for?"

"Coming for me," the vulnerability with which those words were uttered caused the brunette to take a while until she could articulate an answer.

"Always... Besides, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't care about the woman I'm in love with?" Yennefer kissed Tissaia's shoulder.

"Any of my exes?"

"But look at that! She can joke!" Yennefer wrapped Tissaia's waist with both arms, pressing her against her body, "but I mean it, I really care about you, and even if you'd told me not to, I'd have come to make sure you were okay. They shouldn't have locked you up… And I’ve been kind of shitty this last year and a half, I need to make you up."

"Something tells me that if we had had this conversation before, they wouldn't have locked us up," Tissaia sighed, turning her head slightly to look at the brunette, "which reminds me that I haven't thanked you for your gifts before. They're perfect, thank you," the woman's bittersweet expression turned into a subtle smile when Yennefer stole her a sweet kiss. "How did you know I’d love them?"

"When I started working here last year, I realized that you were no longer wearing your necklace with you and... I had a hard time imagining you without it, so I was clear I needed to give you a similar one," Yennefer shrugged, ignoring the other gift.

"Thank you, really. I don’t even know how you remembered about the unicorn, but I will not deny that the pendant is... Very important to me".

"I know that the school is".

"Yes," Tissaia managed to leave a kiss on the brunette's temple, "I guess I thought something like that when I saw you weren't wearing your star".

"It's a long story, but the truth is, I wouldn't have wanted another one if you hadn't given it to me," the younger woman acknowledged, staring in the courtyard, several floors below, "thank you for giving me a light to guide me again," Yennefer smiled softly, "and the blue color of the stone..."

"It was totally accidental," Tissaia hurried to say, despite it wasn’t.

"It's my favorite part of it," Yennefer smile widened, "but I can't say that your pendant's amethyst was an accident... Though I had difficulty choosing between violet sapphire and amethyst".

"Your eyes are definitely amethyst," the headmistress agreed, smiling when Yennefer's lips found her cheek. "What you've said before... Was it serious?"

"What of it?"

"Everything?"

"Maybe not the part about using Sheala’s desl, but the rest of it? Yes, totally serious, I want everything if it's with you," Yennefer nodded, "and I don’t want a reason to stop feeling things for you, unless you don’t want me to be in love with you, because if you do--" Yennefer couldn’t finish what she was saying, finding lips against hers for a while, "well… Now that I know I have a chance, I think I'm willing to face the risks of being in love with my boss and former teacher".

"When you put it that way, it sounds awful, Yenna".

"Just facts," the woman laughed, "and that reminds me that we should go back to the party before they think we've decided to go back to Sheala's desk, you are shaking and, despite I’d love to spend the holidays in bed with you, I also want the date you promised".

"Oh, come on!" Tissaia turned in her arms to look her in the eye, "what kind of woman do you have me for? You’re being cheeky".

"Are you telling me I can’t sleep with my girlfriend just because we haven't had a date yet?"

"No, I'm telling you, I don'tknow why you want to use Sheala's desk when I have the keys to my own office and it's one of the few places I can stand to be locked up for at least a couple of hours... " The headmistress winked to the a very shocked Yennefer, "shall we, dear?"

"Back to the party? No fucking way," that said, Yennefer took Tissaia's hand and dragged her back inside the building, with a fixed destination in mind. They still had a lot to go through, but they had finally taken the first step and that was what mattered.


End file.
